Deskovick adds Evanston payout to All American trip
By Joe Naiman
Matt Deskovick’s quest to qualify for the All American ProRodeo Series finals next month was aided by his fourth-place steer wrestling time at the Evanston Cowboy Days rodeo in Evanston, Wyo.
Deskovick’s time of 5.4 seconds provided him with $612 in earnings, bringing his total All American ProRodeo Series earnings to $13,051. The Ramona resident stood 22nd in the standings following the conclusion of his trip, which ended in Salt Lake City with the Utah’s Own Rodeo at the Utah State Fair.
The 30 cowboys with the top All American ProRodeo Series earnings in each event as of Sept. 30 qualify for the series finals in Waco, Texas.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) created the All American ProRodeo Series to provide part-time cowboys such as Deskovick with the opportunity for a relatively high-paying finals and to boost participation at the smaller rodeos that are crucial to the PRCA’s developmental needs.
Qualifying for the All American finals also requires participation in at least 30 series rodeos. Deskovick had competed in 21 before making a two-rodeo trip to Oklahoma and his five-rodeo trip that included Evanston and Salt Lake City. He also competed in California rodeos at Tehachapi and Norco.
The Evanston rodeo was Deskovick’s first since winning the second go-round and average at the Oregon Trail Rodeo in Hastings, Neb. He made both of his Hastings runs Sept. 4 before driving to the westernmost part of Wyoming to compete in Evanston’s the next afternoon performance. Ryan Trapp of Tremonton, Utah, was Deskovick’s hazer who guided the steer.
“Made a fairly decent run for what I had,” Deskovick said. “All steers ran pretty bad. At least I got something out of it.”
Deskovick then had runs at Salt Lake City. Three cowboys split for third through fifth place in the first go-round with times of 5.0 seconds while Deskovick had a time of 5.1 seconds. “I wasn’t too far off,” he said.
Deskovick left Salt Lake City in fourth place for the second go-round before subsequent runs took him out of go-round and average payout positions.
“Wish I was faster,” he said.
The Salt Lake City rodeo was only the second on that trip in which Deskovick did not place. He started the trip in Longford, Kansas, where he received a 10-second penalty for a broken barrier.
He then earned money at three rodeos in a three-day span. His run at Herried, S.D., placed fourth and won $176, and he earned $2,132 for his runs in Hastings. His competion at Evanston gave him a total of $2,910 during his trip.